Demons Don't Teach Kendo
by Silent Scribe
Summary: There are some pretty weird grownups living in Bailey City, but could the new kendo teacher really be a demon from Feudal Japan? The Bailey School Kids are going to find out!
1. Chapter 1: The New Sensei

_A/N: Last year I tried my hand at _The Magic Tree House_ for an _InuYasha_ crossover. I am now pleased to present an _InuYasha_ and _Bailey School Kids_ mix. _The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids _was the first chapter book series that got me reading, with its blend of a bit of mystery and plenty of comedy it was hard to resist. For those unfamiliar with the series, BSK is about a group of third-graders who follow the format of each book's traditional summary: "There are some pretty weird grownups living in Bailey City, but could the new [insert mundane local occupation] really be a [insert fantastic creature/anachronistic figure]. The Bailey School Kids are going to find out!" _

_And, without further ado, let's find out. _

**Chapter 1: The New Sensei**

The firecracker colors of autumn leaves littered the schoolyard when Howie, Liza, Melody, and Eddie ran to see what was posted for this semester's club sports. The usuals, like basketball, hcokey, and volleyball, were up while the favorites – baseball and soccer – wouldn't be open until next year.

"Same ol' same ol'," Eddie groused. "I want to try something _different_ this year!"

"Why don't you try dancing?" Liza suggested with a giggle.

"Not _that_ different." Eddie adjusted the baseball cap he always wore backward, tugging it closer over his red hair.

"Wow! What about that one?" Howie pointed to a poster that showcased someone in full body armor. His helmet had a mask rowed with tiny bars so you couldn't see his face, but if the large bamboo sword in hands of the illustrated combatant was anything to by it was clear he meant business.

"What's 'ken-dō'?" Melody asked, pronouncing the word carefully as she studied the poster's brief description.

"Haven't you seen any samurai movies?" Howie exclaimed. "This is the modern-day version of their art!"

"Says it's 'an athletic adaptation' of it," Melody corrected, tracing her finger under the exact wording on the advertisement.

"Either way, you get to swordfight!" Eddie whooped, already taking a ruler from his backpack and slashing the air. "That sounds different _and_ cool!"

"Sounds dangerous." Liza wrung her hands.

"Nah, it's okay. We don't use swords like they do here." Howie snickered and held up a Japanese comic book. The cover featured a boy with long white hair and dog ears swinging an oversized blade.

"Okay, I think that would be illegal!" Melody laughed. "You better not read too many of those things, or you'll start believing them. Remember that year when we thought Mrs. Jeepers was actually a vampire?"

Howie laughed. "Hey, I wasn't the only one!"

Eddie rolled his eyes. "I would hope that since we're in the sixth grade now, all you guys would be over that kind of stuff."

"And she scared _you_. Remember?" Melody punched Eddie in the arm.

Eddie grumbled, but he didn't say anything. For all his loud talk about his friends only seeing things in ordinary people, he never did mention what happened that first time with Mrs. Jeepers. He was just glad to be out of her class now.

"Look, we're over all that kiddy stuff. And I never believed it. One time _you_ thought our soccer coach was a zombie!" Eddie teased, sticking his arms out and lurching forward. Liza squirmed as he headed for her. Eddie guffawed. "Oh, or that time the baseball coach was a mummy. That was rich!"

"I-I didn't really believe it," Liza stammered, her face going red.

"Well, whatever you guys think," Howie pulled a pen from his backpack, changing the subject, "I'm signing up for kendo."

"Hey, if I get to swing something that looks like a lightsaber, count me in." Grabbing the pen, Eddie scrawled his name under Howie's on the kendo signup sheet.

"Pass it here when you're done." Melody put her name down. "Hey, Liza, are you joining us?"

Liza didn't like the idea of fighting, but it was a martial art, so you didn't really have to hurt anyone, right? Besides, her friends were doing it, too. "Okay."

Melody wrote Liza's name for her, filling the last available space on the sheet. But just as she dotted the "i," a sharp autumn chill whistled through the schoolyard. As if blown in by the wind itself, a tall young man rounded the corner. He was dressed casually – slacks, a white collared shirt, and a leather jacket with a snowy, furry lining – but his shock of white hair kept him from appearing anything but ordinary. It was trimmed short, tapering at the nape of his neck, and pale bangs sprang out in front, almost sheltering his eyes.

He didn't look very old either. He could've passed for someone's older college brother. Except Melody hadn't seen anyone with eyes like that before. Only dogs and wolves. His face would have looked plain, a smooth pale sort of color, if it weren't for the striking pair of golden eyes that narrowed right at the sixth-graders.

Howie shivered, caught off guard by the menacing vibe this guy from nowhere radiated. "W-who are you?"

The man reached for the kendo sign-up sheet. "The instructor." In one sharp jerk of the wrist, he ripped the sheet from under the pushpins. All four of the kids jumped, but he paid no mind. Calmly, as if his actions hadn't been at all violent and sudden, he walked back to the main office. His strong voice carried behind him, sounding like nothing less than a command. "Lessons begin Monday."

.

_A/N: See you all Monday!_


	2. Chapter 2: Day 1

_A/N: I was feeling generous so everyone in this kendo class has their material provided for them. Otherwise, it's a fairly expensive sport. _

**Chapter 2: Day 1**

"The world before zippers stinks," Eddie grumbled, still fumbling with the ties of his belt. There was one set for the back, another for the front, and you were supposed to slip the second set under the first… Just when he thought he had it, the baggy hakama came down in a heap around him again. Eddie plunked himself down on the locker room floor.

"At least you got the top part on," Howie said. He still had his jeans on.

"Need help?" a soft voice asked.

Eddie looked up. A boy who looked about his age stood with his navy blue uniform already on. Maybe it was how crisp the pleats looked or that even the outer tie of his gi was set properly – Eddie wanted to say it was something in his eyes, but that sounded stupid – anyway, the kid looked more like he stepped out of someone's history book than being just another student.

"What's it look like?" Eddie snorted, snapping out of it and replying to the kid's question.

"Hey, he's being kind to you!" Howie scolded. He approached the other boy. "Sorry, about Eddie's rudeness. I'm Howie. Are you in the same class with us?"

The boy nodded once, showing that the rest of his hair was tied up on top of his head. "Yeah, I'm Kohaku. It's nice to meet you." Without another word, Kohaku proceeded to belt the hakama properly around Eddie's waist.

"Couldja please explain to me why I have to wear a dress in the first place?" Eddie grumbled when he gave up trying to follow Kohaku's movements.

"These hakama are split," Kohaku observed. "They are almost like slacks."

"It still looks like a skirt." Eddie swayed a little, the fringes of his hakama nearly dusting the floor.

Kohaku didn't make any remark. "Howie, please come here." He quickly tied the other boy's uniform. "Let's go or we'll all be late." He bustled out of the locker room, not checking to see if he was followed.

_"Konnichiwa!"_ Kohaku shouted when he stepped through the gym's entrance. He followed it with a curt bow.

"Um…hey." Eddie raised his hand feebly in sort of a wave. Then he felt a strong grip on the back of his head, shoving him down to look at the floor.

"Say hello loud and clearly so everyone can hear you," Kohaku instructed.

Eddie did as told. Mostly because of the pressure on the back of his head. He didn't think Kohaku was that strong. After another second or two, Kohaku let go. In the process, he snatched away Eddie's baseball cap. "You can recover this at the end of the session."

Eddie scowled. He was starting to like this class less and less. He glanced at Howie, who, benefitting from Eddie's example, smoothly made the perfect entrance. About ten other students were already inside. All three raced to join their seated classmates in the middle of the studio. Except for Kohaku. He sat a few feet opposite of everyone instead, closer to the teacher but not by much. The strange young man from Friday sat a distance from the rest of the class, his knees tucked under himself.

"Good afternoon," Kohaku greeted everyone. "I'm Kohaku, a new student at Bailey City Elementary School. I will be your captain and assistant to our instructor, Narita-sensei."

At his name, Narita-sensei's eyelids fluttered halfway open, giving a glimpse of the stunning gold underneath. Even from a ways off, they glittered. He was dressed like everyone else, however. And his silver-white hair stood out against the uniform's dark colors. It was almost as big a contrast as his demeanor to Kohaku's. Unlike his assistant, Narita-sensei didn't look very welcoming. Or pleased. In fact, he may have even looked closer to peeved that pleased, Liza noticed.

Kohaku didn't seem to mind. He went on to have everyone introduce each other, then to talking about kendo as an art form. All the while Narita-sensei didn't move a muscle. For that matter, he didn't even speak.

_May be he doesn't speak very much English_, Liza thought.

"Did everyone bring their shinai?" Kohaku asked at length, pulling his own bamboo sword into his lap. "Good," he said when everyone else showed theirs.

_We paid enough for this course_, Melody thought.

"Let's review some etiquette." Howie didn't think there could be so much protocol to handling a shinai. He wished it had brought a notebook to remember half the stuff! You had to kneel whenever you set it down or pick it up. Never lean on it. Always grip it just under the handguard when at rest. Treat it with all the respect of a real sword.

"And most importantly," Kohaku said as he wrapped up the lecture. "You will always, always greet your fellow kenshi whenever you walk through that door." He pointed to the gym's entrance. Eddie could've sworn Kohaku was smiling specifically at him. "_Kon-nichi-wa_," he enunciated carefully, "is the preferred greeting." He grinned. "Now, who's ready to start?"

The class clamored enthusiastically.

"Please take your shinai and gently place them against the wall over – Hey!" He waited until everyone stopped. "What did I say about etiquette? We'll do this over again." Kohaku demonstrated how properly pick up their equipment from the start. Once that was settled he set everyone to a two-minute run around the gym.

_This is so mundane_, Eddie thought. But he jogged quickly in hopes that Kohaku would have them swinging their swords in no time.

"Stretches," Kohaku called.

_Right after this_, Melody thought.

"Push-ups,"

_Any time now,_ Howie hoped.

"Sit-ups."

_I'm too tired to swing a shinai!_ Liza wiped her brow and puffed.

"Very good!" Kohaku praised everyone. "Now, we can go on to warm-ups."

The gym echoed with groans.

"What the heck did you call everything else, then?" Eddie blustered.

"Routine?" Kohaku looked at Narita-sensei, who just stared placidly back. He still hadn't moved. "Okay, so we're going first work on _shuri ashi,_ or 'foot sliding.' If you want to be good at anything, you have to learn the basics. The basics of good swordsmanship is footwork." Kohaku lifted up his hakama enough to show the proper stance as he bounced on the balls of his feet. "You're going to slide one step forward with your right foot, then bring your left quickly up behind, maintaining shoulder distance…"

While the explanation went on into physical practice, Eddie cast a forlorn gaze on the shinai. _When?_

"Keep your back straight!"

Eddie grimaced. The floor rubbing against his bare feet was starting to make his soles sore. Howie gave him a doleful look. Him, too.

"Faster." Kohaku glided across the gym with enough speed to make the skirts of his hakama look like a feather duster. "Hey, don't have your feet cross! Keep the left foot behind."

"My feet hurt," Liza whined.

"Do we get a water break?" someone else asked.

"Just one more round," Kohaku said. They had lots of "one more rounds."

Eventually, they were down to the last half hour of class. Kohaku called everyone into their files again. "For our closing exercise, please take your shinai and…"

"Kohaku."

Liza's head snapped up. Narita-sensei had finally spoken.

"Sir?" Kohaku tilted his head.

"There will be none of that today," Narita-sensei said in faultless English, making a cutting motion toward the shinai.

Kohaku blinked.

_"Shuri ashi," _Narita-sensei clipped.

_"Hai." _

"Huh?" Howie blinked.

Kohaku turned to everyone else. "We will spend the remaining amount of class time on footwork."

A boy named Huey raised his hand. "Wait, so when do we get to use our shinai?"

Kohaku smiled, but it looked more sympathetic than happy. "Most kendo dojo will require you practice _shuri ashi_ exclusively for three weeks straight."

"WHAT?"

Narita-sensei slanted his gaze toward Eddie. Melody elbowed her friend. "Keep your mouth shut or he'll have us doing this for four weeks," she hissed.

Narita-sensei smirked as if he had been able to hear her whispered comment. _But that's not possible,_ Melody thought. She looked away from his strangely colored eyes anyway.

"Perhaps by the next meeting," their teacher said. Then Narita-sensei ordered, "Practice."

Kohaku took an effort to make it interesting. He had everyone doing their _shuri ashi_ in a variation of Red Light, Green Light. "_Mae_ is 'forward,'" he said. "And _gyakko_ means 'go back.' Try to be quick!" Shouting out the commands, he helped After another twenty minutes of nothing but sliding and shuffling, Kohaku called class to a close. When everyone was lined up, then seated he taught them all how to bow accordingly. The Kohaku said something very quickly and politely in Japanese. He translated it immediately. "Thank you for coming!" He looked expectantly at Narita-sensei.

"Dismissed," the teacher droned.

Quickly running ahead of everyone else, Kohaku set his own example. "Please remember to bow before you leave and say goodbye. _Sayonara!_" He bowed and exited.

In the hallway, Melody, Liza, and Howie all caught up with him. Eddie was busy checking on his blisters from the day's exercise.

"Thank you for the lesson," Liza said, even though she winced as she shuffled from one foot to the other.

"I noticed that our teacher didn't bow with the rest of us." Melody crossed her arms thoughtfully. "I'm not an expert, but isn't that considered rude?"

Howie nudged her, but Kohaku smiled lopsidedly. "Narita-sensei…Narita-sensei doesn't really consider himself like everyone else."

Howie blinked. "Isn't he?"

Kohaku laughed. "No." Then his eyes widened as if he had something he shouldn't have. "Please excuse me." Still in uniform, Kohaku completely skipped the locker room, the skirts of his hakama flying in his haste.

.

_A/N: While this story will have some of the finer points of kendo mentioned, it is by no means meant to be a crash course. So after this fairly technical chapter, I'm going to gloss over most of the details in favor of advancing the plot itself. _


	3. Chapter 3: The Swing of Things

_A/N: Well! That sabbatical lasted much longer than anticipated! Apologies to readers for so suddenly dropping a story at its exposition. But now, back to...  
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**Chapter Three: Getting into the Swing of Things**

"I can't believe we're doing this again." Eddie had just finished tying the hakama and he was pretty proud of himself, too – he had practiced all the night before, his grandmother correcting him every step of the way.

"You didn't like last week?" Howie teased, poking a sore muscle in Eddie's shoulder.

"I didn't expect to survive last week. Or the one before it." They were into their third week of practice now. But every move was measured. Calculated and precise, there wasn't any of the cool Jedi-swinging motions that Eddie thought he would be executing by this time.

"Last call to get out or you'll be late!" Kohaku's voice echoed in the locker room as he hustled out.

At the beginning Kohaku took a few minutes to go around fixing shinai and postures. With the class falling into a more disciplined routine the warm-ups were completed in the first half hour. Kohaku moved on to shinai practice. Narita-sensei made no comment. The entire class glowed with shared smiles – finally they were going to use their shinai.

"First, we're just going to practice the general _men_, or head strike." Kohaku demonstrated the strike slowly, breaking it down to three movements. "Stop at this point. Okay?"

As the class went on to practice, Eddie groused. _This isn't anywhere near a full swing!_ He checked himself out in the studio's mirror, the shinai wobbled.

"Use your wrist. " Kohaku made a short, fast snapping motion with his. "You can't swing correctly if you use your whole shoulder."

While the class went on to swing their blades at Kohaku's fairly fast tempo, Liza focused on making her motions as smooth and accurate as possible. Pacing herself, she studied everyone else. Eddie was still putting in too much shoulder. Melody was going too fast. Howie's swings were too high. She searched around the dojo for Narita-sensei, then picked him out on her far right. He watched everyone quietly. When he shifted his weight, his empty left sleeve flapped to one.

_I wonder how that happened._ Liz chewed her lip and refocused on her swings. Kohaku was right – a lot of the force came from your left wrist when you snapped the sword. What was it like to practice with only one hand? _Maybe that's why Narita-sensei still did kendo. He's trying to prove to himself as much as anyone else that he can do it. _

Beside her Eddie snorted. "What's the point of this? It's not real swordsmanship if you're always doing these exact moves. In a real fight, you don't calculate how far you reach. You just do it."

Suddenly, like a riptide rolling through the entire dojo, Narita-sensei's full-throated stunned everyone in mid-swing. "_Yame!_"

By this point in their training everyone recognized their instructor's order for them to stop. But they had never heard him speak it with this much menace before.

Pushing off from against the wall, Narita-sensei collected his own shinai and stiff-leggedly stalked to the center of the studio. "A demonstration." While Kohaku organized the class into a semi-circle, Narita-sensei pointed at Eddie and wordlessly beckoned him forward.

_What's he doing?_ Eddie shuffled forward.

"_Komae_," he barked.

Immediately reacting to the instruction, Eddie got into the "ready" position – feet spaced, back straight, and hands gripping the extremities of the hilt.

Keeping close enough to cross the tips of their shinai, Narita-sensei mirrored his student, but in a slightly more relaxed form. Eddie noticed he only held the shinai's hilt with one hand. Narita-sensei's command still came out crisp. "Strike me."

Eddie blinked. "Say what?"

Narita-sensei didn't repeat himself, so Kohaku did it for him. "Hit _men_, strike for the crown of his head." Kohaku made a chopping motion with his hand right above his forehead.

Even though he had sort of fantasized about it, Eddie felt weird actually trying to land a strike on Narita-sensei. It didn't seem right. But then again, if you forgot about his station, Narita-sensei really was just a tight-lipped jerked. Eddie swung.

The bamboo blades cracked, the air shook, and there was a loud noise like thunder as Narita-sensei swept forward.

Eddie froze. His shinai still uselessly pointing at the floor from when it was batted away.

And it was Narita-sensei's shinai that wavered just above Eddie's head.

Liza had her hands clapped over her mouth to stifle her squeak. Howie audibly gulped.

"Proper positioning can mean the difference between triumph and humiliation." Narita-sensei stepped back. "You never 'just do it.'" He glared at Eddie when he added that. "Clear?"

"_Hai_," the class responded in unison.

"I didn't hear _you_."

"I got it." Eddie nodded slowly, looking at his feet and not quite ready to feel any more humble.

For a moment, just a moment, Sensei's eyes flashed a fiery crimson. But the red lightning disappeared as suddenly as it had shown. As the only one in the semi-circle of students directly facing Narita-sensei, only Howie caught a glimpse. Melody rubbed down the hairs on her arms. Why did it feel like someone had burnt something?

Turning clear eyes to the class, Narita-sensei dismissed Eddie from his attention, waving him off to join the ranks again. "The importance of form ought to be stressed to all of you." He singled out Melody. "Come here."

Melody shuffled forward. She had never been called out by a teacher before. Had he seen her do something wrong in particular? She tugged nervously on a black pigtail, but squared her jaw and stood ready.

Narita-sensei motioned for her to come closer, holding out only the tips of his fingers.

_Wow. He really was handsome up close._ Those eyes really were a penetrating shade of gold. Melody found she couldn't quite take her eyes from his face. But when she did she realized there was a shinai at her throat.

Narita-sensei gripped the bamboo sword single-handedly. "Your stance," he said, "should be one of which the extension aims the tip of the 'blade' at the opponent's throat." He turned to Kohaku. "See that they complete thirty more subari before dismissal."

Someone was boneheaded enough to shout out, "We already got to a hundred!" Eddie wanted to pound whoever it was.

"An additional fifty, then," Narita-sensei snipped, looking straight in the direction as if he could perfectly pinpoint the sound. Then he added, "Bring wristbands next week." He pointed to a set of assembled armor in the corner. "The second portion of combat will begin then."

"Who are we going to fight?" Liza timidly asked.

Narita-sensei snorted as if were a stupid question. "Each other, of course."

.

_A/N: Thank you for reading! More to come soon!_


	4. Chapter 4: Yokai

_A/N: In this fic, I use Japanese honorifics because that's what the English-speaking Bailey School Kids hear; otherwise if this were set completely in the IY universe I would stick with Lord/Master/other convenient translations. "Demon" is used in reference to "yokai" as _

**Chapter Four: Yokai **

Eddie ground a scarlet leaf under heel. "So why are we here again?"

"Howie said he had something important to tell us." Liza tugged the zipper of her jacket higher in the chilly autumn air.

"Well, he'd better hurry it up, I'm freezing!" Melody stamped her feet, half wishing it were Howie's face she stood on. What was so important to make them wait afterschool around the gym?

"I don't think Narita-sensei is human."

"Here we go again," Melody groaned.

"I'm serious! I saw his eyes go red!" Howie pulled at the flesh under his own eyes. "Like bright crimson red!"

"You must've been dehydrated. Kohaku told us about water breaks." Melody rolled her eyes. Narita-sensei's eyes were a haunting gold, like an angel's.

"I say he's a demon!" Howie said it matter-of-factly.

"You really think so?" Liza asked, looking nervous.

"Well," Howie retracted, "'demon' is the common translation, kind of inaccurate. The right word is 'yokai,' a type of Japanese monster that can shape shift in human disguise and still be vicious or freakishly strong."

Liza squirmed. "That doesn't sound much better. Yokai? Narita-sensei?"

"He has to be," Eddie suddenly agreed with unusual conviction.

Howie blinked. Eddie was always the last person to believe any of their supernatural hypotheses. "And what makes you say that?"

"No human makes you work that hard!"

Melody waved off her friend's comment. "He wants us to be our very best."

"I've never seen anyone treat other people like that," Eddie groused.

"Except for Sesshomaru."

Everyone turned to look at Howie, whose nose was already stuck in his comic book. "Look, tell me that _that_ doesn't look like Narita-sensei."

"Okay, I thought our coach was sociopathic, but Howie, you're just plain crazy." Eddie crossed his arms.

Melody nodded. "Yeah, don't you think we're too old for this? I mean, this is a cartoon character we're talking about."

"No, not just a cartoon character," Howie said, waving his book in one hand. "A type of creature. He's not sympathetic because he's not human. Narita-sensei is youkai!"

"Pfft!" Eddie guffawed.

"I don't know. It might be possible," Liza squeaked, playing with a piece of loose thread on her jacket.

"Oh, not you, too!" Melody snorted. "Liza, get real! You don't even read those books! Your parents said they were too bloody." Melody flipped through the pages. Sure enough someone was getting his eye ripped out in one panel. The one doing the ripping looked like Narita-sensei.

"This is stupid." Melody shook her head hard enough to make her dark pigtails swing.

"No, it might not be." Liza shifted uneasily. "Have you ever seen people with a natural eye or hair color like that?"

"Oh, come on," Eddie snorted. "My big brother just dyed his hair blue last week. And as for the eyes, he could've just been wearing contacts. Teenagers and young adults do weird stuff like that."

"Oh yeah?" Howie pulled out a second book.

"Geez, how many of those things do you have?"

Howie ignored the question and furiously flipped to another page. "What about this?"

"An arm?" Liza asked, shivering a little at the grisly image of a severed limb. No wonder her parents didn't let her read these books.

"He's missing one."

"Okay, he probably fell off his Kawasaki on the I-10."

"Eddie!"

"What? If the rocker-slash-biker boot fits…"

"Well, I say we find out!" Howie declared.

"What're you gonna do?" Eddie snorted. "Throw a stick and see if he chases it?"

"Exactly," Howie said. "We just have to find the right stick."

Liza giggled. "I think they're called _shinai_."

Melody heaved a sigh. Great, they were going to go on another wild goose chase all because of...Howie's comic book obsession. "This is so dumb because demons don't teach kendo!"

Howie sniffed, carefully returning the books to his backpack. "But Sesshomaru might."

.

_A/N: More to come on Tuesday! For now, here's wishing you all a happy holiday weekend!_


End file.
